This invention concerns a composition for detecting cracks in teeth, being especially useful in diagnosing this problem in areas where such damage is difficult to observe directly and where hairline cracks exist. The invention also pertains to a method for carrying out such detection and to a kit which is portable and contains the components necessary for the dentist to carry out such detection.
Cracks can occur in teeth in various ways. They can be minute or obscure and thus seldom detected by previous known methods. Typically, they are not visible to the eye, either in ordinary light or ultraviolet light. They are usually invisible. Often, they do not show up at all in radiographs, because they are so oriented so as to be not detectable in view of the direction in which a radiograph is taken, or because the two segments are held closely together, whereas the radiograph can detect only differences in density. Crazing may occur in teeth but will not stain unless they become cracks.
However, such cracks can cause very great pain to the patient. For instance, upon chewing or even in merely closing the jaws, that is, under any pressure at all, a split tooth can cause extreme pain. At the same time, the crack, because of the close proximity of parts is puzzling to the dentist, who cannot see the crack. Not only chewing or pressure, but other conditions also, can cause pain or discomfort. For instance, the cracked tooth can be sensitive to sweet or sour tastes, or to heat or cold. Often, it is not possible for the patient to know exactly which tooth is affected, and the difficulty of diagnosis and treatment in such instances is obvious.
A split tooth can be caused by great depth of cavity preparation whereby later chewing on the filled tooth can create pressures resulting in a crack in the tooth. Another cause of such splitting or cracking can be the placement of a friction-lock pin which is intended to anchor a restoration and which can create under stresses in the tooth structure into which it is threaded. As patients age, the teeth become more brittle, and a tooth that has never been filled may crack. Cutting tools can also cause cracks. The patient may experience severe pain on chewing, but with or without an X-ray, no crack may be apparent, unless the crack goes completely through the tooth and a gross separation occurs. However, it is then too late to save the tooth, or that portion that has cracked away. On the other hand, cracks which have not completely fractured through a portion of the tooth are almost impossible to determine visually.
Once the existence and location of a split or crack is determined, it is relatively easy to give the patient relief. For example, by placing a cast crown or inlay restoration to protect the tooth from stress. The pain or discomfort is immediately relieved so long as the tooth is otherwise healthy, and the point of the fracture line is removed so as to stop the crack's progress.
The difficulty has heretofore lain in detecting the split or crack, and the present invention provides a composition, kit, and method which enables ready detection of such tooth failures. Thus, the diagnostic procedure is improved and accelerated. Also, this innovation provides the possibility of detection of splits or cracks with no discomfort to the patient.